Paris terror attacks: Islamic State jihadi mastermind allegedly still at large

THE Islamic State jihadi behind the merciless killings in Paris last November is still feared to be at large, according to French intelligence.

Belgium-born Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was killed five days after the Paris terror attacks, is believed to have just been a middle-man and not the main schemer-in-chief, the head of French external intelligence agency told a parliamentary inquiry.

Bernard Bajolet, head of the French secret service, remained coy on the true identity of the evil mastermind but said the force were doing their best to bring the perpetuator to justice.

Tributes poured in for the 130 left dead after the attacks in November

Mr Bajolet told French MPs: “We know the mastermind but I will remain discreet on this point.”

He confirmed terrorist Abaaoud did not plan the devastating attacks on several locations around Paris which left 130 dead and many scores injured.

Mr Bajolet’s testimony came in May, but was only made public this week.

It follows as members of an elite section of gendarmes, a section of French paramilitary officers charged with police responsibilities, condemned their commander Colonel Hubert Bonneau for not leading his men into the line of fire during the savage bloodbath.

Gendarmes were highly critical of their boss for his dealings of the Paris attacks

The National Gendarmerie special operations unit expressed their utter contempt in a letter condemning Bonneau for deploying police forces and not the gendarmes to the Bataclan.

A letter in French weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné said: “Colonel Bonneau quite simply forgot to be a gendarme. We are ashamed of him and we are ashamed of ourselves.

“While we were standing by with about 40 people, ready to stop the killings, the colonel waited until he was summoned.”

It remains unclear how many gendarmes support the scathing letter, but officers who refused to be named told AFP news agency there were “a handful of discontents”.

The parliamentary inquiry today revealed there was a lack of coordination between soldiers and police during the attacks.